Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Ajitendu Chakraverti was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the second Indian Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet, succeeding Rear Admiral Ram Dass Katari. He was the first Indian to be promoted to the high rank of Commodore in the Royal Indian Navy.

Naval career

Dufferin and early career

The Indian Mercantile Marine Training Ship (IMMTS) '' Dufferin'' was established in 1927 to train young men for India's marine service. Chakraverti was in the second batch of Indian cadet-entry officers to join the ''Dufferin'' in 1928. He completed the course earning the Viceroy's gold medal in 1930. The future Chief of the Naval Staff

Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman (30 March 1913 – 8 February 1995) was an Indian Navy Admiral. He was in command of the Indian Navy from 1962 to 1966 as the 5th Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). Early life Soman was born in Gwalior, the capita ...

was his batchmate. They would have a healthy rivalry throughout their careers. In 1930, Chakraverti joined the Royal Indian Marine (RIM) as a cadet. He was trained in the United Kingdom for three years, among which he spent on the lead ship of her class of monitors and the heavy cruiser . He was appointed a

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in the RIM on 1 September 1934. On 2 October 1934, the RIM was renamed Royal Indian Navy (RIN). He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the RIN on 1 September 1937.

World War II

With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Chakraverti underwent a specialist gunnery course in the United Kingdom. He returned to India in March 1941 and was appointed

Second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

of the RIN Gunnery School in Bombay. He was promoted to the acting rank of Lieutenant Commander in October 1943 and was appointed Staff Officer Gunnery at Naval Headquarters. On 5 October 1944, he was given command of the , and was involved in minesweeping operations off Burma and the Malacca Strait in the far-east. Chakraverti was promoted substantive Lieutenant Commander on 18 September 1945. For distinguished services during the war in the Far-East, he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in June 1946. As the senior-most Naval officer, he led the Naval contingent at the London Victory Celebrations of 1946. In 1946, he attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. After completing the year-long staff course, he returned to India and was appointed

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the gunnery school, HMIS ''Himalaya'', in Karachi. In June 1947, he was promoted to the acting rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He subsequently took over as the Chief of Administration (COA) at Naval HQ.

Post-Independence

After the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, Chakraverti continued as COA. In March 1948, the Chief of Staff at Naval HQ, Commodore M. H. St. L. Nott was killed in an air crash. Chakraverti took over as the officiating Chief of Staff and was promoted to the rank of Commodore 2nd Class in May. He thus became the first Indian officer to be promoted to a high rank. In November 1948, Chakraverti handed over charge of Chief of Staff to Commodore H Drew and embarked for the United Kingdom. India was acquiring three

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s from the UK - , and which were being renamed to , and . Chakraverti was appointed Commanding Officer of the ''Rajput'' and the Captain of the 11th Destroyer Flotilla. The ships were commissioned with much ceremony in Portsmouth. The flotilla underwent an intensive four-month work-up with the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

of the Royal Navy. The flotilla, under, Chakraverti, was adjudged the best and most efficient among all British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

destroyer squadrons in the Mediterranean. In January 1950, the flotilla arrived in Bombay and was inspected by the Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy Vice Admiral

Sir William Edward Parry Sir William Edward Parry (19 December 1790 – 8 July 1855) was an Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for his 1819–1820 expedition through the Parry Channel, probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Pass ...

. The

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

Raja Maharaj Singh also inspected the flotilla. Chakraverti was promoted substantive captain on 31 December 1950. In November 1951, he relinquished command, handing over charge to Captain Ram Dass Katari. Chakraverti was subsequently appointed to a key naval post - Captain Superintendent Indian Naval Dockyard at Bombay. In December 1953, he was appointed the next Commodore-in-Charge Bombay (COMBAY) in the rank of Commodore. He relinquished command of the dockyard, handing over to Captain

S. G. Karmarkar Rear Admiral Sadashiv Ganesh Karmarkar, (17 October 1912 – 1988) was a flag officer in the Indian Navy. He was the first Indian officer to command a ship of the Royal Indian Navy. During World War II, he commanded the auxiliary patrol vessel H ...

in March 1954. He then assumed office of COMBAY from Commodore R M T Taylor, the first Indian Officer to do so. This appointment was later upgraded to Rear Admiral and re-designated Flag officer Bombay in 1958, and to Vice Admiral and re-designated Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command in 1968. Later that year, he was selected to attend the Imperial Defence College in the UK. He relinquished command to Commodore Adhar Kumar Chatterji in November. After the year-long course, he returned to India and took over as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff on 10 March 1956 from Commodore Ram Dass Katari, who took charge as the first Indian Fleet Commander.

Fleet Commander

In February 1958, it was announced that Chakraverti was appointed the Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF), the second Indian officer to hold the appointment. He was promoted to the acting rank of

on 8 February and went on a five-week study tour. On 2 April 1958, he assumed the office of FOCIF and was promoted substantive rear admiral, flying his flag on the newly commissioned

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

, the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

(formerly

Crown Colony-class cruiser The ''Fiji''-class cruisers were a class of eleven light cruisers of the Royal Navy that saw extensive service throughout the Second World War. Each ship of the class was named after a Crown colony or other constituent territory of the British ...

. Soon after taking command, he led the Indian fleet in the Joint Commonwealth Exercises off

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The fleet consisted of the flagship , the light cruiser ,

s , , ,

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s , and with the

fleet tanker A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. ...

INS Shakti. The fleet exercised with the Royal Navy, Royal Ceylon Navy and the

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

starting off from Trincomalee. In June 1959, Chakraverti led the fleet on a ten-week exercise. The flagship ''Mysore'' was escorted by the ''Kaveri'' and ''Kistna''. The 14th frigate squadron comprising and and the 11th destroyer squadron comprising , and also joined them. the ships called on ports on the east coast of India and the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

. In August, the fleet conducted exercises with the Royal Navy off Cochin. Chakraverti conducted these exercises from the air, flying in a

Short Sealand The Short SA.6 Sealand was a light, commercial amphibious aircraft designed and produced by Short Brothers. It was sized to accommodate between five and seven passengers as well as to suit the general overseas market in territories with suitable ...

aircraft. In March 1960, he led the fleet in the Joint Commonwealth exercises which was the largest till then, with the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Ceylon Navy, Pakistan Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy and

Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia; TLDM; Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defense operations. RMN's area of o ...

participating.

Later career and retirement

Chakraverti relinquished command of the Indian fleet in April 1960, handing over to Rear Admiral B S Soman. In the same month, the National Defence College was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Chakraverti was selected to be the first Naval Senior

Directing Staff Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

of the college. In April 1962, the Government of India chose B S Soman over Chakraverti as the next Chief of Naval Staff. Chakraverti retired in June 1963.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chakraverti, Ajitendu Indian Navy admirals Flag Officers Commanding Indian Fleet Deputy Chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Royal Indian Navy officers Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies